About Us

Saturday, July 28, 2018

SL Video: "Arrivals and Departures"

"ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES is a machinima (a film created in a virtual
environment) from CEH Productions – Judith Cullen of the Seanchai
Library, Richard Elen of Radio Riel and Designing Worlds, and Honey
Heart of Elite Equestrian. The 15-minute film, shot in the virtual world
of Second Life®, is based on a short story written by Cullen and
originally recorded for Fantasy Faire Radio as part of the 10th Fantasy
Faire, the annual SL-based fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society.

"The story was inspired by, and performed in, a superbly-imagined
Steampunk-inspired spaceport created by leading virtual world creators
The Looking Glass – Sharni Azalee and Marcus Inkpen – for Fantasy Faire
2018, and loaned for the shoot.

"ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES presents a glimpse into two individual
journeys that are brought together and shared for the last time. It is
about the one who leaves, the one left behind, and the essential role of
each. Though the word is never uttered in the film, it essentially
addresses aspects of our attitudes towards death.

“'He has accepted the journey on which he must now embark,' says author
and storyteller Cullen. 'His last act is to pass along that which has
been most important in his life to someone who is remaining behind –
requesting their commitment to carry on the work.'

“She is dropped into loss, grief, and accepting his legacy with no
warning or time to become accustomed to its inevitability,' Cullen goes
on. 'She must choose to be present for him in this moment, accept the
commitment with which he tasks her, and be prepared to continue on –
while at the same time dealing with the shock and weight of it.'

"ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES also highlights the vital importance of
storytelling, harking back to an earlier time when tales were woven into
a verbal tradition that was handed down by word of mouth from one
generation to the next.

" Technical Director Heart re-erected the spaceport as a film set, and
used a range of in-world animations and path-scripting techniques to
realize the action, which was shot by Cullen and Elen, who also
performed the two lead roles in their avatar forms (Caledonia Skytower
and Elrik Merlin). The footage was then edited conventionally.

"The project was a transatlantic collaboration, with Cullen in Washington
State, Heart in Michigan and Elen in Scotland. The soundtrack recording
and production co-ordination was carried out in Skype, sharing screens
while shooting, and ‘dailies’ were viewed via the cloud. The film was
released on 22 July 2018."